Transitions
by aliasbristow87
Summary: Set in Season 4, starts sometime early in the season. Goes slightly AU after that, but nothing contrary to the show’s plot. Mostly SV, but also some focus on Sydney and Nadia’s relationship. Weiss is here as well, just because I love him.
1. Monday Mornings

Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish it was. But it's not. I have no money, so suing me would be rather pointless.  
Spoilers: All the way up to the most recently aired episode of Season 4. This will probably be a series (if you like it).  
Summary: Basically just missing scenes and scenes that might come. It's very S/V friendly, although the first chapter is more focused on Sydney and Nadia. There will be fluff, at some point. I was in an angsty mood when I wrote this, what with having exams the day after tomorrow.  
A/N: This is my first fic. Be gentle, but critical is good too. If you don't think I'm staying true to the characters I WANT TO KNOW. That drives me crazy when I read fanfics. So, without further ado . . .

Chapter 1 – Monday Mornings.

"Do you ever get that feeling that our lives may not be entirely normal?"

Nadia looked up from her newspaper. "On occasion, yes. Were you thinking of anything in particular, or just the usual . . . office politics?"

Sydney offered a half smile "Just the usual office politics. And the family politics. And our extremely twisted love lives."

"Syd, our office politics are our family politics. And about half of our love lives if you count all the hours we spend on missions." Nadia smiled and folded her paper. "And my love life is completely normal. You're the odd one out there. How are things going with you two by the way?"

"Things are . . . complicated. I don't know. He killed his wife. He burned down his house. We have some issues."

Nadia laughed. "You have a gift for understatement."

"It keeps me sane. Normal. So how are things with Weiss?" Sydney raised a suggestive eyebrow. 

"Magical."

"Sounds romantic."

"Not really," Nadia laughed. "He took me to The Magic Castle last night on our date. I was home by ten o'clock."

"I know. I live with you. That's sweet though. That you're moving slowly."

"I've been on three dates with him. That's not slow. That's normal."

"I had a total of half a date with Vaughn before we . . . you know." Sydney smiled.

"You knew each other for what, two years?" Nadia sipped her coffee, smiling. "I'd say that's closer to sloth pace than slow."

"You'd be surprised how much slower it felt at the time. Sexual tension galore. I'm surprised he survived my dad that long."

"I can just imagine, Jack Bristow, boyfriend slayer."

Sydney snorted into her coffee cup. "You have no idea how true that almost was. The first time Dad met him, he had Vaughn up against the wall with a gun on him."

"Seriously? Oh my God, what happened?"  
"When Vaughn was my handler he went to talk to dad about something or other. He used the meet protocol dad used with his handler, which was meeting in a specific room at a specific restaurant. So when Vaughn went in, Dad thought he was an enemy and . . ."

Nadia was rocking back and forth on her chair laughing. "Your father almost killed your boyfriend! That is so messed up! How many people does that happened to!"

"Okay. That's enough. You can stop laughing now. It's not that funny! Our mother shot your boyfriend in the neck!"

That sobered Nadia up. "What?"

"It was on an operation. Like three years ago. Relax. It's not a big deal."

"Our mother shot my boyfriend. That is a big deal. I can't believe he didn't say anything. Why? Why would she shoot him?"

"Nadia, relax. It wasn't anything personal. We were on an op to try and get her operation manual, Weiss was on the team. There was shooting. He got shot. He lived. In fact, he likes using his 'near death' experience to make him seem wise."

"I can't believe she shot him."

"She shot me."

"Oh." Nadia looked stunned. "Why."

Sydney's eyes closed to her sister. "I don't know. Supposedly to save my life. I should get going. I'm due into work at 9:17." She got up and cleared her plate. "I'll see you in a bit. You're due 9:53, right?"

"Yeah." Nadia said, still stunned. "But why would she -"

"Shoot me? She wasn't a really good person Nadia. She was our mother, but that didn't make her a good person. I've got to go. I'm going to miss my train." She picked up her purse and walked out the door. "Bye." Sydney smiled. "I'll see you in a bit."

Nadia nodded, automatically. "Yep. Bye." She picked up her paper, but didn't really read it. In a few minutes she needed to go to work.

I hope you liked it!


	2. Dinner In Paris

The usual disclaimers apply, as does the summary. THIS HAS SPOILERS FOR LIBERTY VILLAGE! It takes place right after the end. Hence the title. If you haven't seen the ep, it should still make sense though.  
A/N: This chapter is much more S/V centric. But don't worry. More of everyone else to come!

Chapter 2 - Dinner in Paris

"So do you want to have dinner with me in Paris?"

"Absolutely" Sydney smiled.

"Are we really going to do this?" Vaughn gave an unsure grin.

"I'm game if you're game."

"Okay."

"Okay"

"We have to tell the pilot." Vaughn, ever practical, pointed out.

"We are going to be so dead when we get back." Sydney checked her watch. "It's seven o'clock in Paris. I think we're above Greece. We could have an eight o'clock dinner if we tell the pilot right now." She smiled and held out her fist. "Rock, paper scissors?"

"Loser tells the pilot. Winner calls for reservations." Vaughn grinned.

"Deal. 1, 2, 3! Dammit!" 

"Rock over scissors! Alright Miss. Spontaneous, go tell the pilot about the change of plans."

"Oh come on, best two out of three?"

"Uh-uh," Vaughn laughed. "Get up there. I'll call for reservations."

"Fine. But you're going to pay," Sydney gave him a quick kiss, and then got up to leave. "and you won't enjoy it!" she called back over her shoulder.

Vaughn only smiled. Then he picked up his cell phone, and dialed a number. " Allo, je voudrais réservations pour vingt heure? Vaughn. Bien, merci. Au revoir."

Sydney came back, a big smile on her face. "I can't believe we're going to do this. We are going to be in so much sh. My dad is going to murder you."

Vaughn turned slightly green. "I hadn't thought about that." Then he looked at Sydney. "It'll be worth it though." He got up. " I'm just going to the washroom. We'll probably need a change of clothes too. Is there anything in the bags we have?"

"I'll look." As she got up Vaughn pulled her into a deep kiss. Sydney responded in kind.

She sighed when they broke apart. "Damn, you're good at that."

Vaughn looked down at her and smiled. "You're not bad yourself. I'll be right back."

"Okay. I'll get looking for clothes." She turned her back and grabbed a flashlight out of a bag. She spent several minutes searching through the backpacks on board. She knew her father had sent a change of clothes for when they landed at LAX. Finally finding them, she got changed. When she turned around, she saw Vaughn coming out of the cockpit.

"Hey," he smiled. "We're about a half an hour from Paris. What did you find?"

"Cords and a turtleneck for me." She tossed him a bundle. "Black jeans and sweater for you. Not exactly fancy, but better than what you're wearing now." She sat down on one of the many crates.

"True enough." Vaughn stripped down to his boxers and socks. "So, we have a half an hour, and nothing to do." He raised an eyebrow as he pulled on the jeans. "Any suggestions."

Sydney leaned back, admiring the view. "I have a few ideas."

"Yeah?" He tugged on the sweater. "Like what?" He sat on the crate beside her, wrapping an arm around her neck.

"I don't know." Sydney murmured as she leaned in for a kiss. "This is nice." She sighed as he slid her onto his lap.

"You know, the pilot's not going anywhere. I mean, he had to take the plane of autopilot. We're not going to get much company from him." Vaughn brushed his mouth over hers.

"That's too bad." She sighed as his lips found the line of her jaw. "We'd better hurry up though. We're going to have to get dressed again."

When they landed, Sydney was confused. "Are we at a private airport? This doesn't look like Paris."

Vaughn smiled broadly. "It's not. It's Nice."

"Vaughn . . ." She looked at him in wonder. "You are the sweetest man I have ever met."

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "Sweetness requires inspiration. Let's go call a cab." He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You're amazing, you know that? The aforementioned punishment? Forget it. I can't possibly punish you now."  
Vaughn grinned. "That was the idea." They found a payphone. Vaughn dialed and said something in garbled French. "They'll be here in ten minutes. Let's go wait."

Sydney looked up at him. "Vaughn?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"No one's ever going to call us boring again."

When they finally arrived back in L.A., they were three hours late. The worst part was, Jack had been waiting. And he had been worried. When he heard the reason why they were late, he was no longer worried. He was furious. Which did not bode well for Vaughn.

"You mean, that I spent THREE HOURS worrying in this goddamn hellhole so you-" He jabbed a finger in Vaughn's direction "could go on a date WITH MY DAUGHTER! Do you have any idea what could have happened!"

"Actually, Dad, no, I don't really know what could have happened. We weren't taking any security risks. Our flight wasn't scheduled, so there was no way we could have been found. And it was fun. Do you know how little fun I have had in the past three years? I apologize for making you worry. I didn't realize you would be waiting. I would have called if I had known."

Sydney's comment about fun had apparently mollified Jack to some degree. He looked at Sydney, and then at Vaughn. "Fine. But this is a warning. Since you have begun working at APO, your slates have been wiped clean of your previous disregard for protocol. Your current relationship is also being overlooked, as it does not hinder your work to any great degree. However, if you ever pull a stunt like rerouting a plane again, I will make you unhappy." He glared at Vaughn as he said this. "I will also not cover up for you. If anyone asks why your plane was late, you detoured over Canada because a storm in the Atlantic."

Both agents nodded in unison.

"Good job in Russia. Debrief is at eight o'clock tomorrow." He glared at Sydney and Vaughn once more. "If you're going to pull stunts like this, I don't want to find out. That will be all. Goodnight." Jack turned on his heel and left, trenchcoat swishing behind him.

"That could have gone worse. He didn't kill you." Sydney smiled at Vaughn. They began walking to the door.

"I think I just had a heart attack. Twice. Did he just condone doing this again?"

"I think so. But we have to be sneaky. Very sneaky. So that he doesn't know. Only suspects. I think he might actually approve of you."

Vaughn smiled. "Not yet. But he's getting there."

"Maybe you should come home with me."

"I'd like that."

Hope that was OK! Please R&R. 


	3. The Most Perfect Man Alive

Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading this, and especially to everyone who has replied. I didn't actually think people would be interested.   
The usual disclaimer applies. Not mine.  
A/N: This chapter is kind of long. I think I might have rambled on. I apologize for any bad jokes, as well as my poor attempts at humour. The next chapter will probably be better. I hope.   
Oh, and I realized I should probably add a rating. So, I think 14A is best.  
(this is a Canadian rating, the same one the show has here.)

Chapter 3: The Most Perfect Man Alive

"You know what? Men like you make the rest of us look bad. I can't believe you."

Vaughn looked up from the debrief he was writing. "Weiss, what are you talking about?"

"Nice you idiot." He gave Vaughn a look of friendly disgust. "Your girlfriend told my girlfriend about that little excursion after your last op."

Vaughn grinned. "That was pretty good. And keep your voice down. Sloane doesn't know."

"What? How did you keep that one quiet? Nadia said that Syd said that Jack was livid when you got back. I would have expected him to go to Sloane to have you fired. Or buried."

"He was pretty pissed. I was actually a little afraid for my life." Vaughn looked back at his computer screen.

"So! How are you not in little pieces under Jack's porch?" Weiss whispered "If there's a trick to this, I'm gonna need to know it once Sloane figures out I'm dating his daughter."

Vaughn laughed. "No trick. Syd talked him down. He just gave us a good lecture and told us to say we ran into a storm over the Atlantic and had to detour." Vaughn typed that last fact into his debrief. "He mentioned something about not getting caught next time, too."

"Whoa. Wait. Jack Bristow, the man more scary than most international terrorists, is covering for you. The man dating his daughter." Weiss shook his head. "I don't believe it. You're lying." His face suddenly lit up. "Ohh. Good one. This is about me calling you boring isn't it? You almost had me. Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn rerouting a plane. The people who wouldn't even go bowling on a work night? I think not. Nice try." Weiss rolled himself back over to his computer. "Rerouting a plane," he laughed. "Yeah right."

Vaughn looked over at his friend. "Believe what you want. Just don't say anything to Sloane."

Nadia looked over her desk at Sydney. "I still can't believe he took you to Nice. That is so incredibly romantic."

Sydney gave a big grin. "I know. I just about cried."

"God. I've never had a man do something like that for me." Nadia sighed. "Your boyfriend might just be the most perfect man alive." She shook her head. "Something like that wouldn't even cross Eric's mind."

"I don't know. Give Weiss a chance. He can be pretty sweet when he wants to." Sydney smiled mysteriously.

"What was that look? Oh there is so a story there. You have to tell me."

Sydney bit her lip. "Okay. Last year after I came back I was pretty depressed. I mean, Vaughn was married, one of my best friends was dead, the other one was in witness protection, and my apartment had burned down."

Nadia clucked her tongue in sympathy. "That must have sucked."

"It really, really did. And Weiss sort of took care of me for a while. He got me an apartment right next door to him, came over and got drunk with me a couple times. He was just a really good friend." She paused. "One day he asked me what I missed the most that I didn't have anymore. Besides obviously, Vaughn. I told him that I used to have a first edition Alice and Wonderland, that our mother gave me." She smiled and shook her head, remembering. "So, a few days later I was low about something or other. He came over to my desk at the end of the day, and he gave me a third edition of Alice and Wonderland. He wanted to get the first, but it was a gazillion dollars apparently."

"Awww." Nadia fanned her eyes. "I'm going to cry. Okay. I'm better" She took several deep breaths.

Weiss came over and sat down in between Nadia and Sydney. "That was a great story about Nice, by the way. I almost believed it."

Nadia burst into tears. "You. . . You're just . . ." She hugged him fiercely, still crying.

Weiss looked at Sydney in alarm. She winked and mouthed "PMS." He rolled his eyes as Sydney got up, laughing silently, and went to talk to Vaughn.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sydney sat down next to her boyfriend. "So we should probably compare debriefs from Libery Village. So that there's no confusion as to what happened."

"Great idea. You read mine, I'll read yours." Vaughn handed her a stack of papers.

"Did you write a book? Mine's like five pages long."

"Did you do the whole operation? Or just the plane ride?"

"Shut up." Sydney began to skim over his work. "So I heard Weiss doesn't believe we actually went to Nice."

"Nope." Vaughn grabbed a pen of his desk and made a note on one of her pages. "He seems to think we made the story up in response to his comment about being boring." Vaughn's forehead wrinkled as he read something. "It was easy to take down the other couple? I thought you were an English major."

"Are we editing? I thought we were just reading. And what's wrong with that sentence?" She took a pen off his desk and scribbled something on his paper. "Did you mention to him about not saying anything to Sloane?"

"Yep. As for you're sentence 'it is' is poor grammar. And 'easy is an over used adjective." He looked up "What did you just right down?"

"Nothing." Sydney looked up innocently "And easy is an adverb, not an adjective" She frowned when she read something on his debrief. "Was it really necessary to mention the comment made about our 'intimacy issues?'"

"I thought that it was a good pointer, that on your next mission you should try to stay in cover a little better." He looked up as Sydney scrawled something out. "Is there a problem with something on my debrief?" 

"Yeah, you're being too wordy a lot of the time." She gave him a tight smile "And what exactly was wrong with my behaviour on this mission? Most of the time you acted as stoic as my dad." She looked down wrote something else down. "I'm surprised they even believed we were dating, let alone married."

"I'm sorry if I'm being to wordy. I was just trying to properly describe the situation so that our superiors actually know what happened." He looked up defensively. "So now I'm like your dad?"

"Well you're being about as critical as he is in your op report." She looked at him nastily. "According to this my sub-par performance nearly cost us our mission."

"I didn't say that!"

"No it took you about three paragraphs! I was trying to summarize it so that we're not sitting here until the next ice age."

"Part of every debrief is to criticize your partner! I was trying to be helpful!"

"Fine!" Sydney grabbed her report out of his hands. "I guess I'll just go make a few changes. To make sure I've been 'helpful' enough." She stood up angrily.

The whole office was looking at them. Including her father. She gulped and walked over to her desk, her father's eyes following her across the room. Nadia was sitting a few feet away, trying to fix her eyeliner. "So how much of that did everyone hear?"

"Everything was crystal clear from 'sub-par performance'. Your father poked his head out his office door at 'three paragraphs'." Nadia grimaced. "So I guess you and Vaughn had a bit of a fight."

"Yeah." Sydney lay her head down on her desk miserably. "You want to go for lunch now?"  
"Okay." Nadia stood up and grabbed her bag. "Where do you want to go?"

They walked through the tunnel. "I think I need McDonald's."

"How childish." Nadia gave her sister a warm smile.

"It's about how I'm feeling." Sydney swiped her card to let them out.

"Aww. You'll make up. And just think about how much fun that will be." She raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Sydney grinned. "Yeah. So, where did Weiss go. Last time I checked you were getting your eyeliner all over his tie."

"Leave me alone. It's PMS. Not my fault." They walked up the stairs to street level. "McDonald's has ice cream right? Because I need ice cream. Preferably chocolate."

"Ice cream sounds excellent. Yes they do. I recommend the hot fudge sundae."

A few minutes later Sydney and Nadia sat at a bright red table, with a sundae and a big mac apiece. "I'm going to get fat you know. This has to have like a thousand calories." Nadia grimaced. That's half of what we're supposed to eat in a day."

"It's comfort food. Comfort food has zero calories, because stress burns calories. And I think a big mac actually has like two thousand."

"I didn't want to know that." Nadia put her burger down. "Now look. You've ruined my lunch."

"No, no. Think rationally my dear sister. Our proffession has a higher stress level than any other, except air traffic control. Think of the calories we burn on missions. Never mind the calories we burn worrying about our boyfriends."

"So really, if we didn't eat like this we would become emaciated."

"Exactly."

Nadia picked up her burger again, and took a large bite. Then all of a sudden a horrified look came over her face.

"What? What is it? Did you find a chicken head in your burger?"

Nadia looked down and shielded her face with her hand. "It's them."

"Who?" Sydney turned to look over her shoulder at the door, but Nadia grabbed her before she could see anything.

"Don't look! They'll see us."

"Who!"  
"Eric and Vaughn."

"So? Vaughn and I have to make up sometime. Might as well be now." She tried to stand up, but Nadia had a death grip on her arm.

"We're eating burgers. Burgers are not date food. No one can look sexy while eating a burger. Let alone a Big Mac." She looked at Sydney like a deer caught in the headlights. 

"Are we in high school? Besides you look fine." She shook of Nadia's grip on her arm. "Just wipe the ketchup off your chin."

"No! Sydney, please!" It was too late. Eric spotted them from the lineup to order. He nudged Vaughn, as Sydney began to walk toward them, a tentative smile on her face. Vaughn turned to Weiss and said something, then made his way over to Sydney, the same sheepish smile on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sydney looked down. "I'm sorry. I was being kind of nasty. I don't take criticism well, constructive or not."

"That's okay. I'm sorry too. I wasn't exactly tactful either. And I was being too critical." Vaughn pulled Sydney into a hug. She sighed, and breathed him in. "I'm not really like you're dad, am I?" 

Sydney laughed, and pulled back a little. "No, not really." She stood on tiptoe and kissed him gently. "I'd let you know quite clearly if you were."

"Thank God."

"Okay you two, as sweet as this is, there are children present. And this tray is heavy." Weiss looked at Vaughn pointedly.

Vaughn took the tray and they made their way over to where Nadia was sitting, trying to maintain her dignity while she ate a burger about an inch thicker that she could bite through.

"So," said Weiss smiling broadly. "McDonalds. A woman after my own heart."

"For the record, this was Sydney's idea." Nadia retorted.

"Really?" asked Vaughn. He turned to his girlfriend "You're usually so anti-calorie."

"Are you calling me fat?" Sydney raised her eyebrows.

"No!" Vaughn looked horrified. "I was just- but-"

Sydney and Nadia laughed. The four agents ate slowly, not eager to get back to work. They finally finished and began to walk back to the subway station. "You know, I'm still kind of hungry." Sydney said.

"Me too." Nadia looked thoughtful. "You know, whenever I eat McDonald's, I don't feel full after. I just feel different."

"I know what you mean." Sydney stared thoughtfully into space. Then she perked up. "Look, a hot dog stand."

"You two cannot possibly be serious." Weiss looked at them in disbelief. "I just saw you both eat a big mac, a super size fry and a sundae each."

"So? We're growing girls." Nadia looked at her sister. "I could really go for a pretzel too."

"How are you both not the size of whales!"

They finally arrived back at the ops centre, fifteen minutes late. Jack was there to lecture them all on tardiness, and protocol. "You know this is a secret operation. Four of you cannot come back TOGETHER! What if you were being followed?" He turned to Sydney and Vaughn. "I expected better from you two," He added in a furious whisper. "especially after that little stunt you pulled in Nice a few days ago!" He stalked off in the general direction of his office.

Weiss' mouth was open. "You seriously went to NICE!" He yelled. "I can't believe you rerouted that plane!"

"Rerouted what plane?" Sloane asked from behind Weiss' back.

"You know Nadia, we'd better get back to work. Why don't we trade those reports on the possible terrorist cells in Zurich. See if we can't come up with something."

"Excellent idea." Nadia agreed quickly. "See you two later!"

"So, you rerouted a plane to Nice? Was there a purpose to this?"

I hope you liked it! I'm sorry if the characters were a little off, especially Nadia. I'm finding it hard to write her, because she hasn't really been developed on the show yet.


	4. Of Rats, and Pets, and Jack Oh My!

Disclaimer: Not mine!  
A/N: This is so awesome! My PM list is approaching a page! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I would give you all candy, but alas this is the internet. You'll have to settle for an update. 

Chapter 4 - Rats, and Pets, and Jack, oh my!

At four o'clock on a Sunday afternoon Sydney and Nadia were sitting on their kitchen counter with their legs crossed. Sydney was wielding a spatula, and Nadia had chosen a pair of tongs as her method of defense.

"Okay."

"Okay." Nadia looked over at her sister. "Do we have a plan?"

"Don't touch the floor under any conditions. He may come after us." Sydney glared at the refrigerator across from them in warning.

"What if it crawls up the walls?" Nadia looked horrified. "What if it sneaks behind the toaster and the microwave, and comes behind us and we don't notice!"

"Don't panic." Sydney said, trying desperately to stay calm. "I'll try and hit it with the spatula. You try and grab it with the tongs."

"Trade you spatula for tongs."

"Hell no."

"Chicken."

"Yes."

"Oh come on," Nadia excaimed. "We're spies. We face evil every day. We should be able to deal with a rat."

"Human evil. Not disgusting, flea bitten, disease carrying, radioactively huge rodent evil." Sydney shuddered. Then something moved between the fridge and the counter. "What was that? Did you see that?"

"Uh-huh." Nadia whimpered. "I think it's the rat."

"Well, we're safe here. Mostly."

"I think we should call the exterminator now."

Sydney glanced at the phone, a good five feet of floor between them. "Go ahead."

"I don't know the number."

"You'll have to look it up. The phone book's on top of the fridge." She glanced at the offending appliance. "I suggest using the tongs."

"We can wait for a bit." Nadia tilted her head to try and get a look between the fridge and the counter. "Maybe it'll go to sleep after dark." She added hopefully.

"Rats are nocturnal."

"Then why the hell isn't it sleeping now?"

"It probably doesn't have to sleep, you know, cause of the radiation." Sydney pulled as far back against as the cabinets behind her would allow.

"Wonderful. How are we going to survive? All the food is on the other side of the kitchen."

"Call the exterminator."

"If you get the phonebook." Just then the doorbell rang. The two women looked at each other in panic. 

"Shotgun not getting it!" Sydney and Nadia yelled at the same time.

"Who is it?" Sydney yelled from the counter. 

"Weiss." Came the muffled reply.

"Come in!" Nadia shouted. "And grab the phonebook of the top of the fridge!"

He came in with a puzzled expression on his face, and crossed over to where the girls were sitting in the kitchen. "Why are you on the counter?"

"There's a rat behind the fridge," Nadia replied. "Get the phonebook please."

"A WHAT?" Weiss lept onto the counter beside his girlfriend. "Where? Where is it?" He glanced at the spatula and tongs that the two women had. "I want a weapon too."

Sydney reached into the drawer beneath her and pulled out a wooden spoon. "Here. It's under the fridge."

"What is a spoon going to do? I want something sharp!"

"No!" Nadia cried. "You can't kill it!"

Weiss gave her a disbelieving expression. "You can't be serious. It's a rat. Not a freaking kitten!"

"She's right." Sydney said. "We need to trap it, and let it go somewhere else. Like a farm in the country. Can you get the phonebook please?"

"No! It'll attack me if I invade its territory!" He paused, and then leaned out to speak to Sydney. "I'm sorry about blowing your story to Sloane by the way. You might mention that to Vaughn, so that he doesn't, you know, kill me."

"Don't worry about it. We got out of it okay. Told him you'd called us boring, and that we'd made up a story about going to Nice. He bought it, I think. My Dad backed us up again anyway. But Vaughn is going to make you suffer."

"Damn." Just then the rat moved again. All three agents screamed.

"The situation is getting dire," Nadia noted. "Eventually we're going to have to go to the bathroom." There was a knock on the door, and then Vaughn entered.

He saw Weiss. "I am going to make you suffer." He started towards the group, a vengeful expression on his face.

"That's nice honey, but could you grab the phonebook off the top of the fridge first please?" Sydney asked sweetly.

"Sure. Why do you- AHHH!" At that moment the rat had chosen to dart out from the left side of the fridge, and around to the right. This act had caused Vaughn to drop the phonebook on the floor and leap onto the counter between Sydney and Nadia. "What the hell was that?"

"That was a rat." Sydney replied. "Probably a radioactive one."

"Was it really necessary to drop the phonebook?" inquired Nadia.

"Why is there a rat? How did it get in? How did it get so big?" Vaughn glanced at his girlfriend with a panicked expression. "How long has it been here?"

"I don't know, I don't know, probably radiation, and about an hour." She replied succinctly. "Could you get the phonebook please? And grab the phone while you're at it?"

"No!"

Sydney and Nadia sighed. "Guess we're going to be here for a while."

"Can I have a weapon too?" Vaughn asked.

Sydney looked in the drawer. "Pizza cutter or pastry brush?"

"Pizza cutter. Why do I get the crappy weapon?"

"Because you dropped the phonebook." Weiss replied.

"You better be damn glad I'm not sitting next to you. If I was, I'd feed you to that rat in pieces. What part of 'don't tell Sloane' confused you?"

"I'm sorry! I was surprised. And a little bit afraid of Jack. Besides, you got out of it okay."

"Barely. I will get even you know. When you least expect it. Probably in a very embarassing way." The doorbell rang again.

"Who is it?" Sydney called

"It's me."

"Daddy!" She smiled. "Come in. And get the phonebook off the kitchen floor please."

Jack entered, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why do I need to get the phonebook?" He stared at the four agents crowded on the counter, wielding various kitchen utensils like shields. "What are you doing?"

"There's a rat behind the fridge." Sydney told him.

Jack eyed their weapons. "Which you intend to cook to death?" He crouched down and grabbed the phonebook, handing it to his daughter. "I suppose you'll want the phone as well." He took it off the hook and passed it to Vaughn. "Which side of the fridge?"

"Right." Sydney replied, looking through the yellow pages for exterminators. "There's counter space still if you want some. And a pastry brush."

He glanced over his shoulder from where he had been looking behind the fridge. "I think I can handle one rat."

"We think it might be radioactive." Nadia added doubtfully.

Jack raised an eyebrow and turned back to the fridge. "Do you have a flashlight handy?"

Nadia reached into the drawer under Vaughn and pulled out a bright pink Barbie camping flashlight. "Here." Jack eyed it distastefully, but took it.

"Hi? Hello? Is this 'Xcellent Xtermination'?" Sydney asked into the phone. "Yes. We have a pest problem. There's a rat behind my fridge." There was a pause. "Yes I'm sure. I've seen it." She gave them her address. "How long will you be? 45 minutes! But you're only ten minutes away! Okay, fine. Bye."

Nadia looked at her "45 minutes? I have to go to the washroom!"

"They said that all their vans are out. 45 minutes is the earliest."

Jack spoke up. "I think I've solved your problem." He stood up, shaking his head. "It wasn't a rat." He turned around, and all four shrank back in fear. He had the rat in his hand. "You let in a stray kitten."

"Awww." Sydney and Nadia hopped off the counter. Nadia ran for the bathroom.

Jack handed the kitten to his daughter, still shaking his head. "Be careful. It scratches." He went over to the sink to wash mud off his hands. "It's also extremely dirty. Probably diseased."

"But it's so cute." Weiss slid off the counter to come and pet it. The kitten swiped at him with its claws. "And apparently likes Sydney best."

Vaughn tentatively reached out a hand. The kitten sniffed it, and then indicated approval by a slight not, and then withdrew back into Sydney's cupped hands. "It's so small." He touched a paw with one finger. "Are there any tags? Or a collar?"

Sydney checked, and then shook her head. "Nope. Probably a stray."

Jack joined the group. "Are you going to keep it?"

"I don't know." Nadia came back, looking relieved. Sydney looked up at her. "Should be keep him? Her?" Sydney turned the kitten over on it's back and checked the sex. "Her."

Nadia petted the kitten's stomach. "I think we should. She's a stray. She has no home."

"Aww." The two girls and Weiss commenced to speak baby talk to the kitten for several minutes. Jack rolled his eyes, and Vaughn simply petted the cat every so often.

"You need to bathe it, and take it to the vet for shots you know," said Jack. "I also suggest getting it tags. And a litter box, and food." Sydney nodded, and smiled in response. "When you have a minute, can I talk to you?"

Sydney passed the cat over to Nadia. "I'll be right back."

Jack led her outside to his car. "When you and Vaughn were in Russia, I contacted your mother's old handler for information on Liberty Village, as well as to provide an extraction if necessary." Jack paused. "In exchange, he wanted the books that the KGB had used to contact your mother while she was married to me. As you'll recall you had given them to the NSA for analysis."

Sydney cringed inwardly. She had done that when she had believed her father was a traitor.

"The NSA gave them to me. However, I was curious as to what your mother's handler wanted to know, so I had Marshall analyze them. He found what it was that the SVR was looking for, so I gave fjdkslfj the book he needed. The rest, I thought you and Nadia might want." He opened his trunk and pulled out a box, handing it to Sydney. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Dad. . . thank you." She set the box down and gave him a hug. Jack reciprocated awkwardly.

"I should get going. I have work to do." He turned to get into his car.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay? I think the kitten likes you." 

He gave his daughter a tight smile. "No. You have work to do if you're going to keep that thing."

"Thanks for the help." Sydney turned to go, then turned back. "What did Mom's handler want to know?"

Jack paused for a moment, considering a dozen easy lies. "It's best you don't know for now."

Sydney nodded her acceptance and picked up the box. "Thanks. For everything. For being honest."

"You're welcome."

Hope you liked! I should probably study for biology, but I think I might write another chapter instead. We'll see.


	5. Pick Your Battles and Your Lies

Chapter 5 Pick your Battles and your Lies.

"Syd?" Vaughn murmured.

"Mmhmm?" She groaned from the other side of the bed.

"Did you hear that?" There was another large thump outside their bedroom.

"No." She listened for a moment, and heard it again. "What was that?"

Vaughn rolled out of bed and pulled on his boxers. "I don't know." The kitten (still unnamed) jumped off the bed and went to the door of the room. There was another bump, and then voices. The kitten hissed, and backed away from the door. "That's not a good sign," Vaughn whispered. "Animals can tell when something's wrong."

Sydney stepped out of bed and quickly grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants off the floor. "Did you hear Nadia come in?"

"Yeah, around midnight. Eric was with her." Vaughn stole silently over to his backpack and took out his gun.

Sydney shook her head at him. "Put it back," she whispered. "If whoever it is has a gun, they're more likely to shoot if they see you with one."

He hesitated, and then set it down next to the door. "Just in case." He looked at her. "Do you have anything in here we can use as a weapon?"

Sydney crept over to her closet, and extracted a wooden baseball bat. She passed it to Vaughn, figuring he probably had a better swing. She dug around quietly for another minute, and produced a small pocket-knife, which she placed beside Vaughn's gun.

Vaughn pressed his ear against the crack in the door. He heard voices, heavily accented. "Have you found anything?"

"No. You think these kids know anything about Sentinel?"

"No. Probably not. But Jack Bristow does."

Vaughn pulled back. "They're looking for information your father has. Something about 'Sentinel.' What do you want to do?" He turned to her, keeping his eye on the door.

Sydney shrugged. "I'll call Nadia's cell. The ring might scare them off, if they think we're up. And we can warn her, and Eric." She called Nadia, and explained the situation in hushed tones.

After a few minutes, Vaughn shook his head. "They're still here." He whispered. "They're thinking about checking in the rooms." Suddenly, the noise from the main part of the apartment got louder. Vaughn grabbed Sydney's arm, and pulled her behind him. She gave him a look, signifying her disgust as his macho attitude. "You know I can kick you're a right?"

"Now is not the time. And you don't have a baseball bat." He pushed Sydney onto a spot of wall between him and the door. She reached down and opened the pocket knife, and then palmed it. The door creaked open slowly, hiding Sydney more as it opened. A man came in gun drawn. Vaughn quickly swung at him with the baseball bat, knocking the gun from his hands, and then knocking him to the floor. Another man burst in, and Sydney disarmed him with a quick roundhouse kick. She brought him down to his knees with a solid punch to his midsection. Weiss and Nadia came running from their room, both out of breath. The two men knocked them aside and bolted for the door. "Two came after us. They ran like you're two.

Vaughn and Nadia made to run after them, but Sydney and Weiss pulled them back. "Let them go." Sydney tried to catch her breath. "They were just after information."

"They tried to kill us!" Nadia exclaimed.

"No. They just wanted us out of their way." Weiss sat down on the bed, breathing heavily. "I really need to get into better shape."

Sydney walked out into the main area, and checked the door. "They picked the locks." She stated. "Time to get a deadbolt." She flipped on the light.

Vaughn looked at the door. "You've been living alone for a year and you don't have a deadbolt?" He looked at her reproachfully. "That's not terribly safe."

"I'm a spy. Generally, I can take care of myself. And I'm not living alone now."

Vaughn didn't press the issue. "Why would they come here now? It doesn't make sense. If they were looking for information your dad had, they would probably know you were a spy."

They all sat on the couch, Sydney and Nadia curled up against their respective boyfriends, thinking. "They must be desperate for the information. Maybe they're running out of time." Nadia thought again. "But coming at night doesn't make sense. I mean, they know that you're a spy. They probably know I'm a spy. Why not pick the locks during the day, when no one is around? They'd have more time to look, and less chance of getting caught."

"Unless they weren't looking for just information." Vaughn commented.

"What do you mean?" Sydney glanced at him, confused.

"It's three o'clock in the morning. You're home. You're probably dead asleep. What better time to kidnap an agent?" Vaughn pulled her closer. "They could use you as leverage to get information from your dad."

Nadia nodded in agreement, and then thought for a minute. "When they went to leave, they both grabbed bags from near the door. They were full." She looked around the apartment. "But nothing's missing. That means they brought stuff in with them. More than they would have needed to pick a lock. Maybe it was something to make you go more easily. Chloroform, rope . . ."

Vaughn got up and started toward the bedroom. "What are you doing?" Sydney, Nadia and Weiss rose from the couch and followed him.

"I'm calling your father. We need to let him and Sloane know what happened." Vaughn knelt in the hall just outside Nadia's room, and picked up a cloth. He sniffed it carefully. "Chloroform." He glanced up at Nadia. "They weren't just after Sydney."

About fifteen minutes later, Jack pulled into the driveway. By that time the four agents were dressed, and Sydney and Nadia were more than a little freaked out. He rapped on the door, and Weiss answered. "What are you doing here? Sydney are you okay?" He stared anxiously at his daughter.

"I'm fine dad. Not even bruised." She smiled reassuringly.

Jack turned back to Weiss, now standing next to Nadia at the counter, where they were making sandwiches. "What are you doing here?" He repeated.

Weiss and Nadia looked up like deer caught in the headlights, mouths full of peanut butter sandwich.

Jack looked between the two of them. "Oh." He opened his mouth to say more, and then decided against it. He glanced at Nadia. "Your father is on his way. I suggest you think up a suitable explanation."

Sydney and Vaughn snickered behind Jack's back. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Sloane came in. "What's going on? Is everything alright?" He looked at Weiss. "Why are you here?"

Sydney mercifully saved Weiss and Nadia from an uncomfortable explanation. "Eric lives next door, he was just over for the night." No lies there, Sydney thought smugly. "Someone broke in while we were sleeping, presumably looking for information."

"What information?" Sloane enquired.

"Something regarding Sentinel." He watched Sloane and Jack carefully for any reactions. They exchanged a quick glance. Vaughn waited a moment. "Do you mind telling us what Sentinel is?"

"It doesn't concern you." Jack snapped at him.

"Someone broke in and just tried to kidnap my girlfriend and her sister. That concerns me." Vaughn retorted.

Jack glanced at Sydney. "They tried to kidnap you?" He glared at Vaughn. "You didn't mention that over the phone."

"Only possibly." Sydney interjected. "We're going on conjecture, nothing more." Sydney glared up at her boyfriend. "Vaughn's overreacting."

He stared at Jack. "I found a cloth with chloroform on it." Vaughn glared back at his girlfriend. "There's not much conjecture necessary."

Sloane was inspecting the door. "Why don't you have a deadbolt? That would have prevented them from getting in."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "So, are we done?"

"No." Jack sat down at the kitchen table. "You need to stay somewhere else for a while." He looked at Sydney and Nadia as they seated themselves. "They could be back."

"I agree." Sloane joined the agents at the table. "This isn't a safe place to be anymore. We can put you both in a safe house, for the time being. Until this is all finished with."

"Whoa. Back up." Sydney took a deep breath. "I am not moving to some safe house for an undetermined amount of time."

Nadia stepped in. "I agree. We're obviously quite capable of protecting ourselves here."

"Besides that, we'd be no safer in a safe house than here. If someone really wants to find us, they will. And after the beating we gave those men tonight, I don't think they'll be back."

"I would still feel better with you two in a safe house." Sloane commented.

"Well, I couldn't care less about how you feel. This is my home. I'm staying."

"Ditto." Added Nadia. Both girls leaned back and crossed their arms over their chest, identical stubborn expressions on their faces.

Jack knew better than to press the issue any further. They were as stubborn as all three of their parents. "Alright. But first thing tomorrow, I want you to install a security system, with an alarm." He glanced at Vaughn and Weiss. "Perhaps it would be best if you two moved in temporarily." He stressed the last word in particular. When Sydney opened her mouth to protest, Jack cut her off. "I understand your ability to take care of yourself better than anyone. However, they may bring more men next time, and you will be safer the more of you there are."

"I agree with your father." Vaughn directed his comment at Sydney. "Besides, Weiss practically lives here anyway." He smiled at her sweetly.

The smile had its intended effect. Sydney gave in. They sat for another few minutes, discussing the night's events. When Sydney and Weiss started to fall asleep, Jack decided it was time to go. He and Sloane left, graciously giving all four agents the next day off.

The two men walked out together. Sloane looked at his sometime friend and enemy. "How did you do that? Get Sydney and Nadia to go along with the security system, and agents Weiss and Vaughn moving in?"

Jack smiled. "You pick your battles. And your lies, as I'm discovering."


	6. Rude Awakenings

Chapter 6 – Rude Awakenings

"Vaughn?" Sydney asked as she turned over in bed.

"Mmhmm?" Was his groggy response.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not anymore, no."

"Sorry, forget it. Go back to sleep."

Vaughn rubbed his face and rolled towards Sydney. "What is it?"

She looked pensive for a moment. "Do you think my Dad's been acting strange lately?"

"Strange in what sense?"

"In an 'I'm hiding something' sense."

Vaughn thought for a moment. "I know what you mean. He and Sloane have been in a lot of unexplained private meetings."

"Yeah. I wonder what they're up to."

"That's an excellent question. However, I doubt we'll know anything until they want to tell us."

"And that'll be about five minutes after we've figured it out and are really pissed off."

"Syd, don't worry about it. It may not even affect us."

"You're probably right." She sounded resigned.

Vaughn shifted around in bed until her head was on his shoulder, and she was curled up against his side. Gently, he smoothed her hair. "He's your dad, Syd. And he loves you very much, whether or not his actions convey that." He sighed and looked at the clock. "Now go to sleep. We have a good three hours before Weiss gets bored and wakes us up. Or, you know, if you don't feel like sleep, I'm sure we could come up with something else to do." He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"I'm not that tired." She grinned as she rolled on top of Vaughn.

He leaned up and kissed her, slowly, languorously. "So this is why you woke me up." He gripped her hips and flipped her onto her back, hands wandering and discarding unnecessary pieces of clothing.

Sydney laughed as his mouth worked its way down her throat. "Yeah, that was the plan."

"Sydney . . ." Vaughn wheedled low in her ear. "Syd . . ." He shook her gently, and she rolled over in bed. "It's time to get up." Her response was to snuggle down deeper under the duvet, and pull the pillow over her head. Vaughn sighed. "Come on Syd. It's a gorgeous day out, and Weiss and Nadia want to go to the beach. We have the whole weekend off."

"Mmphh." Sydney attempted to push him away.

"All right, that's it. I'm breaking out the big guns." He rolled on top of her, pinning her to the bed. "Last chance for mercy." She ignored him. "Alright." Then he began to tickle her mercilessly. That woke her up.

"Vaughn! Get off me! Go away!" She started to laugh and scream. " I want sleep!" She grabbed a pillow to try and fight him off. In response her grabbed the pillow in one hand and her wrists in the other.

"Give up?" Vaughn asked breathlessly.

"Will you let go of me?"

"Will you get up?"

"Fine." Sydney grumbled. Vaughn kissed her gently and rolled off of her.

"Morning sunshine." He smiled at her, head propped up on his elbow.

"I'm getting dressed. When I get to the kitchen, there had better be coffee waiting for me."

"It's a deal." Vaughn got off the bed and walked to the door. "Syd?"

"What?" She asked shortly.

"You're beautiful."

"You're annoying."

Vaughn closed the door behind him, smiling. "What a woman."

Fifteen minutes later, Sydney walked into the kitchen, showered, dressed, and in a considerably better mood. "Good morning."

Nadia, was sitting at the counter, still in her pyjamas. She looked at her sister grumpily. Between an attempted kidnapping and other stuff, I got four hours sleep last night." She glared at Weiss, sitting innocently at the table with Vaughn. "There is nothing good about this morning."

"I thought you wanted to get up and go to the beach." Sydney shot her sister a confused look as she took a sip of coffee. "That's why I dragged myself out of bed."

"Interesting." She swiveled in her chair to look at Weiss. "I was told you and Vaughn wanted to go to the beach."

"Really." Said Sydney, turning to look at her boyfriend. "I'm fascinated."

Vaughn held his hands up defensively, while Weiss studiously avoided everybody's eyes. "Weiss said that he and Nadia wanted to go to the beach."

"Eric?" Nadia asked sweetly. "Did you say that?"

Weiss mumbled something incoherent in response.

"Pardon, Eric? What did you say?"

"I said that I _might_ have inadvertently implied something along those lines." He smiled boyishly at his friends and girlfriend. "As we're up, we may as well go to the beach."

Sydney and Nadia glanced at each other. "Fine." Nadia finally said. "But only because its a beautiful day, and I have nothing better to do."

"Agreed." Sydney said. "But if something like this ever happens again, we will tell our fathers. And you won't like what happens next."

Weiss nodded vigorously, smiling with excitement.

Vaughn heaved himself up from his chair. "Lets go get our stuff together." He headed in the direction of his and Sydney's bedroom.

Sydney followed closely behind. Nadia gave her boyfriend one last glare before walking to the bathroom and slamming the door.

"I love weekends." Weiss sighed happily.


End file.
